Official Luthiers Forum!

Having used Titebond for over 40 years of building, I switched to HHG for some of my assembly awhile ago. It is easy to use, and I like it, but I still find clean-up difficult. Like most everyone, I want the inside of my instruments to be as clean on the inside as the outside. The fact that the HHG does not continue to ooze like Titebond is great. However, the gummy worms of HHG are difficult for me to totally clean-up. They like to stick to everything! I've also read that builders say the glue dries clear, but the stuff I use is always a light brown. Typically I try to clean-up squeeze out before it hardens by first escaping off the gummy worms and then using a damp rag with warm water to wipe down. Just wondering how other builders approach the clean-up issue.

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I use whatever the access to the squeeze out lets me do. So, if I just glued braces in a go-bar deck, I have a lot of immediate access to the squeeze out, and I get rid of it as soon as I can. A chisel I don't care about is useful; a sharpened stick of spruce helps; stuff like that. I keep paper towels handy for wiping the boogers off the chisel and the stick. Hot/wet rags are good; I just started using a second pot (separate from the glue pot) for hot water, because of the cleanup need. We'll see how that works out. If my access is limited due to clamps or whatever, I wait until it is fully dry, then chisel or scrape it off. That's not fun, but I like it better than doing the same thing with Titebond. My cleanup is a learning work in progress. Interested to hear other ideas.

Put more water in your hhg and wipe it up right away, the worms don't form.

I haven't tried it yet, but will be this week. I read that a soda straw pushed forward will 'scoop' up the squeeze out in the corner when gluing braces. I've got a straw and some gluing to do soon, so I'll see if it really works very soon.

Cut the straw off at about a 30 degree angle. Works great for titebond. For HHG timing is the big deal, in my opinion. Try to clean it off too soon and it sticks to everything. Wait long enough and the squeeze out is easy to clean off with a sharpened stick, old chisel, or whatever followed by a cloth dampened with hot water and wrapped around a stick. Lots of methods out there, just find one that works for you.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

The big advantage to hide glue is that cleanup isn't a one-time chance. Even if you can't reach it at all due to clamps in the way, you can rehydrate the squeeze-out after it dries and clean it off completely with no damage to the wood, as tends to happen when chiseling glue off.

But you do have to leave a wet paper towel on it for a long time to rehydrate a thick lump.

If possible, at least disturb the glue's bond to the wood while it's still wet. Just jab in with a long stick of wood, and don't worry about getting all the glue out. Once the clamps come off, the disturbed glue will pop off no problem, and the remaining residue is thin so it rehydrates faster.

There is a point where the glue gels, but before it dries enough to start stiffening that cleanup is pretty easy. Let the glue gel (hide glue of proper consistency will always gel), use a popsicle stick sharpened to a skewed knife edge to cut the 'worm' free, then use hot water, soaked and wrung out paper towels and stick to get rid of the residue. Having learned to use Titebond after I was trained with hide glue, I prefer hide's clean-up and the warm water 'second chance' to clean up if not all of it was caught the first time around.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

I've got a bunch of sharpened spruce sticks of different widths and lengths. I stick them in the hot water and lift off the bulk of the squeeze out pretty quickly with a hot moist stick.

Next I go over the area with moist paper towel with hot water from the pot and wipe dry.

Last thing is scrubbing the area with a toothbrush that I leave in the hot water.
Dry with paper towel and follow with a heat gun to dry the wood.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Thanks for all the replies. No easy answers I guess. I find Titebond more of a PITA because it keeps oozing out for awhile, but after years of using it I can get a pretty clean looking project. However, I like the properties of the HHG for many gluing operations, so I'll just have to find a relatively painless way of dealing with the clean-up. Some good ideas in the replies. I'll try em'- Thanks, Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I find HHG easier to clean-up than Titebond.

As mentioned there seems to be the most opportune time to clean up squeeze out very shortly after setting the clamps. I find this to be about two minutes out. The worms and other squeeze-out is now "snot-like..." and can be pulled up in large, stringy pieces mostly. The rest also as mentioned can be cleaned up with hot water from the glue pot on a paper towel and some care to not get the water in the joint just where the squeeze out is. Various sticks including wooden tooth picks for corners and seams are your friend.

We glue a lot of bridges back on but for us it's the same as the initial gluing for a builder since we completely clean up the bridge bottom and patch and use fresh HHG. Squeeze out will show so I try to get all of it in the first five minutes after the clamps have been set. It's not unusual for me to miss something and have to go at it the next day and/or the SM bridge gluing caul likes to get wet with HHG under the cork for the wings where you can't see it or get to it with the caul in the way.

Some hot water and that paper towel will take it off.

My 3/16" bit when I redrill the pin holes the next day will often get all gummed up with still soft glue. Hot water in a cup and blowing the bit dry with compressed air cleans that up well.

HHG should be golden in color, clear is a new one to me. Be aware some of the folks in Europe and/or the UK can use the terms HHG and Pearl glue as the same. They are not. Pearl glue has bone and other animal parts in it, stinks like a rendering plant.... and is not the same. Where the clear color came in I have no clue, never seen anything like this myself.

You should look inside an old G*bson.... I've often thought that there is typically enough squeeze out in there to glue the braces on five of my guitars.....

In a nut shell though hot water and a paper towel with care not to get water in or on the joint will clean up the stuff even days later.

I used to use a glue clearing chisel when using Titebond. Never used it again with HHG.

With hide glue I let it jell and then use a Mohawk compound tool to cut loose and remove the bulk of the squeeze out. A damp rag to wipe areas that are easily reached and wet Q tips to reach areas that are hard to get to. I use the 192 high clarity glue and really don't worry too much about making everything immaculately clean.